An Examiner Editorial's archive

The story of a Groves family who turned to friends and strangers to help their diabetic son live a better life has taken an unexpected turn. The saga began when Ryan and Tara McLeod heard about service dogs who could detect if their young son Racer, who has Type 1 Diabetes, has blood sugar that’s too high or too low.

While America may have embraced the idea that we welcome “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” history has taught that no segment of the population has been given “inalienable” rights unless they were willing to fight for them. Likewise, the struggle for commensurate pay has long been a bone of contention between those in power and those who just want to be treated fairly.

With the departure of Beaumont Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Carrol Thomas looming ever closer with each passing week, most taxpayers will undoubtedly breathe a sigh of relief when Butch finally heads for his retirement villa – or wherever one of the most highly compensated public school officials in Texas will go to count his millions.

Nearly two years have passed since the July 2010 shooting death of 28-year-old Marine veteran James Whitehead by off-duty police Captain Robert Arnold, but the killing continues to reverberate far beyond the O’Reilly Auto Parts store parking lot where the fatal confrontation took place.

The establishment of Father’s Day in 1910 was seen as a complement to Mother’s Day a few years earlier. That holiday – a uniquely American tradition – was not created by the floral or greeting card industries, though both have profited handsomely over the past hundred years from the celebration.

While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us “that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas,” we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We’re of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.